Your Buyers Have Changed: What Building Materials Brands Need to Know About Today’s Audiences

For years, building materials brands have relied on familiar formulas.

But what happens when the people buying, specifying, installing, and selling your products start changing how they make decisions?

In this episode of Constructive Insights, Jen Candlish and Terri Cameron explore evolutions in buyer behaviour across four of the most common audiences for building materials.

Brands that understand these shifts in buyer behaviour among homeowners, contractors, dealers, and architects will be better positioned to earn trust, influence decisions, and capture more of the market.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• How building materials buyers are changing
• What pressures are influencing decisions today
• Where audiences are going for information and validation
• What building materials brands can do to stay relevant

What’s Changed And Why?

The biggest shift isn’t necessarily what buyers are purchasing. It’s how they are making decisions.

Across every audience we work with, decision-making has become more research-intensive, more risk-sensitive, and more digitally driven than ever before.

Today’s buyers have access to nearly unlimited information. They can compare products, review experiences, validate claims, and ask AI tools for recommendations before ever speaking to a salesperson.

At the same time, the entire construction ecosystem is becoming more complex.

Homeowners are facing renovation costs that have climbed roughly 30 to 40% since 2020. Contractors continue to navigate ongoing labour shortages, with the industry expected to need nearly 500,000 additional workers in 2026. Dealers are managing tariff-driven pricing uncertainty and increasing consolidation across the channel. And Architects are balancing sustainability compliance, embodied carbon reporting, and tighter project delivery timelines.

The result is customers who are more cautious, more informed, and more determined to get decisions right the first time.

“The behaviour shift that we’re seeing is just as important as the market shift that’s happening.” –Terri Cameron

This isn’t simply a change in media or content consumption. It’s a response to growing pressure, complexity, and risk across the entire building industry. And in many ways, each audience is not only managing risk, they’re absorbing more risk from someone else in the value chain.

Here’s  what we’re seeing in the market and broader industry trends shaping buyer behaviour today.

#1. Homeowners: Trying to Avoid an Expensive Mistake

Of all the audiences we work with, homeowners may be experiencing the most emotional pressure. Which is why, more than anything, today’s homeowners are looking for confidence.

They want quality. They want durability. They want products that will perform for years to come. But they’re also increasingly worried about making the wrong decision.

What We’re Seeing

In our work with homeowners, we’re seeing buyers spend significantly more time researching and validating before they commit.

Many arrive at contractor conversations having already watched videos, compared products, read reviews, explored forums, and asked AI platforms for recommendations.

This audience isn’t just shopping. They’re trying to avoid costly risks.

What the Market Is Telling Us

The broader market reflects the same tension.

While functionality, durability, and aesthetics have become leading renovation drivers, only 8% of homeowners cite resale value as their primary renovation objective.

At the same time, affordability remains a major concern. Nearly 68% of Millennials and 65% of Gen Z homeowners identify cost as the number one barrier preventing them from completing desired renovation projects.

Tariffs are only adding to that pressure, with roughly 60% of homeowners reporting concerns about rising renovation costs.

And perhaps most importantly, nearly half of homeowners say one of their biggest challenges is finding a contractor or professional they can even trust. This means they’re not only nervous about the investments they’re making, they may not even have a trusted source that they feel can confidently walk them through this process. This all compounds to create a more anxious homeowner shopping in today’s market. 

What Are They Looking For?

When these homeowners are putting in the research, they’re actively consuming:

• • Cost benchmarks
  • Product comparisons
  • Before-and-after examples
  • Performance reviews
  • Rebate information
  • Installation expectations
  • Frequently asked questions
  • “Mistakes I made” renovation content

Beautiful imagery still inspires, but we’re seeing a lot more of that practical, confidence building content being heavily consumed. 

Where Are They Looking?

Different platforms are serving different purposes for our homeowners. 

Discovery and inspiration is often happening on:

• • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • Pinterest
  • Houzz

Whereas validation activity is increasingly happening through:

• • Reddit
  • YouTube
  • Review sites (including retailer product pages) 
  • Contractor recommendations
  • AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini

For example, communities like r/HomeImprovement have become powerful sources of peer advice and real-world experience, while trusted creators such as This Old House, Project Farm, Essential Craftsman, Fix This Build That and Home Repair Tutor continue to be go-to resources for homeowners who want “proven” support with product selection and project planning.

What This Means for Brands

Today’s Homeowners don’t need more marketing. They need reassurance.

Brands that help buyers understand costs, compare options, avoid mistakes, and feel more confident throughout the decision-making process are building trust far earlier than competitors focused solely on product promotion alone. 

#2. Contractors: Focused on Execution

Contractors today are operating in an environment defined by execution pressure. And while as a “group”, Contractors are far from a monolithic audience, we consistently see the same pressures emerge across many of the customers we work with: labour constraints, schedule pressure, margin protection, and the need to execute efficiently. For them, everything is evaluated through a practical lens:

“Can I keep this project on schedule?”

“Can I protect my margins?”

“Can I do this with the team I have?”

“Can I reduce callbacks?”

“Can I get materials when I need them?”

“How quickly can I close this and move to the next job?” 

What We’re Seeing

Contractors aren’t looking for innovation for innovation’s sake. Especially when it comes to new solutions like AI. They don’t want to be the first ones to try the next “cool” thing or be in the experimental group for application. They want a sure thing. And when it comes to new innovation, they want something that will actually help them perform better. 

That means vague innovation messaging does not carry much weight with this audience. Claims like “game-changing” or “next generation” only matter if they translate into practical outcomes: faster installs, fewer callbacks, reduced labour, easier coordination, reliable supply, or better margin protection.

Ultimately, the brands earning attention are the ones solving real-world jobsite and business challenges.

What the Market Is Telling Us

Labour shortages continue to place pressure on the industry, with forecasts suggesting the construction sector will require hundreds of thousands of additional workers in the years ahead.

At the same time, project complexity, customer expectations, and cost pressures continue to rise. It’s not uncommon to hear “we need to do more with less” when it comes to this group. And in today’s market, that concept is being pushed even further. 

What Are They Looking For?

Contractors are looking for information that helps them solve immediate, practical problems.

This is not an audience casually browsing for inspiration. Most of the time, they are searching because they need to make a decision, troubleshoot an issue, quote a job, coordinate a crew, or avoid a costly delay. And as codes, energy requirements, and sustainability expectations evolve, they are also looking for partners that can help simplify compliance, not add another layer of complexity.

This group is actively looking for:

• • Installation guidance and best practices
  • Product demonstration videos
  • Troubleshooting resources
  • Estimating tools and calculators
  • Permit and specification requirements
  • Subcontractor coordination support
  • Construction management workflows
  • Labour-saving products and systems
  • Availability and supply information
  • Field-tested comparisons
  • Peer recommendations and contractor reviews

Where Are They Looking?

Contractors place significant trust in:

• • Contractor forums
  • Supplier relationships
  • Industry associations
  • Trade publications
  • YouTube demonstrations
  • Peer recommendations

Importantly, much of this research happens after working hours, when contractors finally have time to solve problems and evaluate options.

What This Means for Brands

If your marketing doesn’t connect to operational reality, contractors may be tuning it out.

The brands that earn credibility are the ones helping contractors reduce headaches, save time, improve efficiency, and deliver better outcomes. 

#3. Dealers & Distributors: Balancing Relationships and Growing Digital Expectations

Dealers may be facing the most structural change of any audience.

They are managing tariff pressures, margin compression, consolidation, succession challenges, and rapidly changing customer expectations. At the same time, they’re sitting in the middle of the entire ecosystem, absorbing pressure from both manufacturers and customers.

What We’re Seeing

One of the most interesting tensions in the channel today is that dealers continue to describe the business as relationship-driven. And of course, relationships still matter. Expertise, trust, and service remain critical differentiators.

However, what we’re seeing is that customer expectations are evolving. Contractors and builders increasingly expect the same convenience and accessibility they experience elsewhere in their professional and personal lives. As a result, dealers are being challenged to deliver both high-touch service and a seamless digital experience.

What the Market Is Telling Us

The broader market reflects this shift.

Approximately 30% of contractor purchases now happen online, while more than half occur outside traditional distributor relationships.

Remodeling activity also continues to represent a growing share of construction activity, creating more frequent purchasing decisions, greater product variety, and increased homeowner influence throughout the buying process.

Together, these trends are changing how customers research, evaluate, and purchase products, forcing dealers to rethink how they create value beyond product availability alone.

Compounding that, let’s not forget M&A and consolidation is also changing the competitive landscape, putting more pressure on independent and regional dealers to clarify their roles outside of local relationships. 

What Are They Looking For?

As dealers navigate these shifts, they’re becoming increasingly focused on operational efficiency, business resilience, and long-term competitiveness.

They’re actively seeking information and resources related to:

• • Pricing forecasts and market outlooks
  • Supply chain volatility and inventory planning
  • Ecommerce and digital enablement
  • Customer experience strategies
  • Business growth and profitability
  • Sales enablement and merchandising support

More than anything, dealers are looking for practical ways to adapt to changing customer expectations while continuing to differentiate through expertise, service, and strong customer relationships.

Where Are They Looking?

Dealers continue to rely on trusted industry resources such as:

• • Trade publications such as HBS Dealer or LBM Journal
  • Buying groups
  • Industry associations
  • Manufacturers & suppliers 
  • Industry listening channels (reviews, forums etc.) to stay up to date 

They’re also paying closer attention to technology providers, ecommerce platforms, and emerging tools that can help improve operational efficiency and strengthen the customer experience.

What This Means for Brands

Dealers don’t just want products. They want, or rather need, partners.

They’re looking for manufacturers that can help educate customers, train teams, strengthen merchandising, support digital selling, generate demand, and simplify complex product conversations.

As competition increases and customer expectations evolve, the manufacturers creating the most value are the ones helping dealers adapt, compete, and better serve their customers.

#4. Architects: Balancing Design Intent and Project Reality

Architects have always balanced creativity with practicality. Form with function. Vision with viability. 

What’s changing now is how much earlier execution considerations are entering the process.

What We’re Seeing

Architects are increasingly being asked to think about project delivery, procurement realities, sustainability requirements, labour constraints, and constructability much earlier than before. The result is a growing focus on execution certainty.

That does not mean design matters less. It means the products they specify need to work harder.

In today’s environment, architects are looking for confidence that a product can protect design intent all the way through construction. The closer a project gets to specification, the more practical and risk-aware the decision becomes.

What the Market Is Telling Us

As a stand-out criteria, sustainability has significantly shifted from aspiration to accountability for our Architects. 

Architects are increasingly expected to support decisions with measurable proof around performance, carbon impact, material transparency, compliance, and long-term outcomes. For example, the AIA 2030 Commitment now includes more than 1,300 firms working toward carbon-neutral design, and AIA research found that architects proactively recommending or integrating sustainability options grew from 58% in 2020 to 79% in 2025.

That is increasing reliance on documentation, testing, and product data. As such, Environmental Product Declarations are becoming increasingly important for informed material selection.

What Are They Looking For?

Architects are actively seeking resources that make products easier to evaluate, specify, and defend, including:

• • BIM-ready assets
  • Environmental Product Declarations
  • Health Product Declarations
  • Sustainability and embodied carbon documentation
  • Product testing data
  • Technical specifications
  • Code and compliance resources
  • Installation and constructability guidance
  • Case studies and real-world implementation examples

The common thread is proof. Architects need information that helps them move from inspiration to specification with confidence. 

Where Are They Looking?

Inspiration still happens through platforms like:

• • ArchDaily
  • Architizer
  • Designboom
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

But as projects move closer to specification, behaviour becomes more technical and validation-driven.

Architects increasingly rely on:

• • Manufacturer websites
  • BIM libraries
  • Supplier technical teams
  • Continuing education
  • Webinars
  • Professional communities
  • Peer conversations
  • Product databases and specification platforms

What This Means for Brands

Architects don’t need more aspirational messaging. They need fewer obstacles.

The easier it is to access BIM files, sustainability documentation, technical specifications, and implementation guidance, the easier it becomes to confidently specify your product. Beyond availability, it’s really about becoming useful earlier, when architects are still shaping criteria, evaluating trade-offs, and determining which products feel credible enough to carry forward.

The clear opportunity here is to help architects protect the vision while reducing the risk of what happens next.

The Common Thread Across Every Audience

Homeowners want confidence.

Contractors want predictability.

Dealers want stability.

Architects want execution certainty.

Different audiences. Different pressures. But ultimately, they’re all trying to reduce risk and make better decisions.

The brands that help them do that will always have an advantage.

If you’re curious how these audience insights stack up against what’s happening in the market overall, be sure to check out the 6 Trends Shaping Marketing in 2026.